Tennis: All Purpose Tennis Thread XI

[kihei]

Struff is a good example of an athlete who plays tennis. If he had a return of serve game and better nerves, he might be a top twenty player. But he doesn't.

 

[kihei]

As if to prove my point, Struff tightens in the eleventh game and loses his serve on a double fault.

Roger holds easily at love for the match.

 

[MsMeow]

Wozniaki revealed she has rheumatoid arthritis

Wozniacki reveals rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis - Tennis.life

 

[kihei]

Gulbis trails Simon 6-7, 2-1 after winning a 16 minute service game in which he saved six break points and went to war with a woman in the stands who was teasing him. Kind of fun, actually.

 

[kihei]

Gulbis versus Simon is a grasshopper/ant match up, with the proviso that the ant has really precise passing shots.

7-6 (4), 7-6 (0) for Simon.

Well, at least, Ernests will end the year in the top 100, by no means a certainty even two months ago.

 

[Hadoop]

Interesting, too, that they aren't necessarily the Next Gens that I thought would prosper so greatly a year ago (Chung, Rublev, Shapovalov, Kyrgios).

Agree that all four have stalled a bit this season. Shapo should be fine (he's just 19 and he has plenty of time add maturity to his game). Chung needs to get healthy and regain his confidence. Rublev needs to put on some muscle. And Nick needs a LOT of things both physically and mentally, though that certainly does not appear to be his priority at the moment. (https://www.canberratimes.com.au/na...ous-kyrgios-new-300k-toy-20181022-p50b5z.html)

 

[Hadoop]

So the top four seeds in the WTA finals in Singapore all failed to advance to the semi-finals.

 

[kihei]

A very creaky Federer (26 UEs, equally divided between his backhand, which everybody has been picking on all week, and his forehand) is lucky to win the first set 7-6. Simon served for the set at 5-3 but couldn't hold.

 

[kihei]

Ignored the second set, only to find that Simon won it 6-4. Onto the third as Roger continues to struggle.

Serving at 4-2 Roger is broken at love exclusively on unforced errors, Simon now serving to even the match.

Gilles does even the match, but blows a 40-15 lead next service game and is broken for the match, 6-4

Roger with 60 unforced errors, 31 on the forehand side. Sure looked like the end is near today.

 

[kihei]

Fascinating match as Medvedev outlasts Tsitsipas 6-3 in the third. Daniil has such an unprepossessing game, and yet he's been one of the most consistent winners on the tour lately. That backhand especially doesn't look like much but it has become one of the most reliable strokes in the game, and he can really move it around. He deserves a lot of credit for the work that he has put in.

 

[kihei]

double post

 

[kihei]

Marius Copil is having the tournament of his life. A 28-year-old career journeymen who previously had never risen above #73 in the ATP rankings (#93 currently), he has been playing great tennis all week. He is up against Roger in the final in Basel playing in front of a bunch of bankers and cuckoo clock makers (look at the crowd and see if they don't fit the stereotype), and Roger is going for tournament win #99. Tough odds for Copil, and now Marius has lost a tight first set 7-6 (5).

2nd set: surprisingly Copil leads with a break, 2-love....the adrenalin of playing in a final against GOAT is wearing off and Copil is wobbling magnificently, depending on his 140 mph first serve to save him from his shaky bits which are becoming way more frequent, 4-1....Roger who has played quite well today gets what seems like the inevitable break, 4-3. Doubt seriously that this match will get to a third set.

Copil is broken again as God hates him. He loses three challenges and one umpire-demanded replay by a grand total of about an inch and a half as the crowd goes absolutely crazy with delight. Little wobble from Roger but he holds for the match.

Given his struggles most of the week, 99 must be sweet for Roger, especially coming on home turf. I wouldn't say that 100 is going to be exactly a gimme. Federer had a lot of luck this week and played well only in sporadic patches. Except for a set and a half of great tennis against Medvedev, Roger looked his age in this tournament.

 

[Fighter]

Nishikori vs Kandy was the best final I could ask for in Vienna. I'm sorry for Kei since he's been 0-9 in finals since Memphis 2016, but Kevin today was just better. A well deserved ATP500 title for him

 

[MsMeow]

If Roger keeps declining like he seems to be, I hope he just retires.

 

[kihei]

Croatia has a great chance to win a Davis Cup. With Del Potro out, that leaves Schwartzman and, who, Mayer (?) to represent Argentina. Definitely like tiny Croatia's chances.

 

[Hadoop]

Raonic opens against home fav Tsonga at the Paris Masters while Shapo gets fellow home fav Gasquet. A couple of fascinating first round matchups I must say.

 

[Tuggy]

World #1 is up for grabs in Paris this week. Nadal currently slightly ahead of Djokovic in the live rankings, but whomever goes the farthest will be #1 come next Monday.

Also in rankings news...Jack Sock finally takes his big plunge. Drops 127 spots to 150...let's see if he can defend his title

Congrats to 19 year Canadian Katherine Sebov who won her first professional title yesterday. She won the CH in Saguenay.

 

[kihei]

World #1 is up for grabs in Paris this week. Nadal currently slightly ahead of Djokovic in the live rankings, but whomever goes the farthest will be #1 come next Monday.

Also in rankings news...Jack Sock finally takes his big plunge. Drops 127 spots to 150...let's see if he can defend his title

Congrats to 19 year Canadian Katherine Sebov who won her first professional title yesterday. She won the CH in Saguenay.

Damn, I knew Sock had a bad year, but I didn't think it was that horrific. Last time he was ranked this low was in February of 2013. I always thought that his extreme Western grip on his forehand would be his undoing, but it seems as though it's the rest of his game that has fallen apart.

 

[Tuggy]

Damn, I knew Sock had a bad year, but I didn't think it was that horrific. Last time he was ranked this low was in February of 2013. I always thought that his extreme Western grip on his forehand would be his undoing, but it seems as though it's the rest of his game that has fallen apart.

Yup, he's 150 in the live race right now. The points coming off are the Paris MS1000 and a SF at the WTF. He won't be at the WTF to defend those points and I'd say the chances of him repeating (or even having a deep run) in Paris are somewhere between slim to none.

 

[Tuggy]

Shapovalov just underway against Gasquet.

 

[Tuggy]

Another early exit. Had the lead in both sets but couldn't take them.

 

[MsMeow]

Denis needs to shut it down for the year.

 

[Novak Djokovic]

Denis is a fun yet frustrating player to watch. Better now than later when it comes to learning to win (or lose) crucial points/games/sets.

 

[Hadoop]

A set a piece between Raonic and Tsonga. Gotta be honest though the tennis has been very poor.

 

[Hadoop]

If Roger keeps declining like he seems to be, I hope he just retires.

For sure he's gonna continue playing until he gets to 100 tournament victories (he's at 99 right now). After that it's tough to say because he isn't just the GOAT, but also quite arguably the most beloved player around the world in tennis history.